Holiday,  Holy-Day, or Tradition?
by Qimmah Gillund (iamsanctuary1@aol.com)

Holiday - A consecrated day, a religious festival. Now usually written HOLY-DAY.
Holy-Day - A day consecrated or set apart for religious observance, usually in commemoration of some sacred person or event; a religious festival.
Tradition - That which is thus handed down; a statement, belief, or practice transmitted (esp. orally) from generation to generation.

So what are you doing this holiday?  Prayerfully we will all consecrate our day in observance of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And since the word holiday derives from holy day, I pray that we will all keep it holy, no matter how it is celebrated.  If you are consecrating (setting yourself aside) in observance of the birth of Christ, then certainly you are engaging in educating the unredeemed in the power of Christ to redeem them.  I understand that some clergy have decided to close some churches because the overhead cost will be too high if they open the church and few participate in the service.  In some way this is saying that there will not be enough money collected to cover the cost of operating.  When did the church decide to operate like a business, and when was it decided that having a Christmas service on Christmas day would not be lucrative enough to the budget? 

Does anyone realize that closing the church on Christmas is an active denial of the Christ we celebrate with our lives? How would you feel if you were not invited to a celebration in your honor? For some ungodly reason some Christians have decided to treat Christmas day in such a way as to line up with the heathen, who views this time merely as an opportunity to be off of work and away from their normal responsibility, so as to remain in a celebratory state without interruption. Somehow it has been decided to take Christians out of Christmas! Yes, this is a personal walk but what about my brother who is down in the valley trying to get home?

Then too there are some who have decided to make the day more universally acceptable by X-ing Christ out of Christmas. Somewhat likened to the act that American Muslims practiced when they X’d out their surname given by the slave master.  It was to indicate that they no longer identified with the former master, and had transitioned into a higher level of revelation of who they are.  Quite frankly, there would never be a Christmas without Christ, so X-ing him out of Christmas is just plain impossible! And, there is no such thing as criss-cross mas! But, of course, those of you who are reading this article are aware of this already. Regardless to the hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping, the mystery of Santa and his reindeer, and the winter wonderland theme, there is no event in history of mankind as significant as the birth of Christ, and no other world event more notable to celebrate.  Yet we deny him. 

We shutter at the thought that we will be denied, if we deny him. And many think that the denial of Christ is by the spoken word alone.  But I beseech you therefore brethren to listen to the herald of the trumpeter.  We deny him when we remove him from Christmas!  And we further deny him when we do not believe that the power of Christ to redeem the lost and restore is more powerful then the bottom line on the budget! Bah humbug you say?  Well I’ll say it first!  I recognize and repent that more attention is given to the trimming of the tree then to the exhibition of the Christ child in the manger or the furtherance of the gospel on the day we celebrate his birth.  And where was the tree in the birth of Christ anyway?  What significance did it have to his birth? Surely it wasn’t exhibited outside of the Inn where there was no room to accommodate his birth!  Isn’t that the same tree which is part of the pagan ritual of worshipping the sun?  No, I’m not trying to take away your tree; the Prophet Jeremiah already did so in Jeremiah 10.  But I can’t understand why we would decorate and commemorate the very thing (tree) that Christ was crucified on!  Almost seems as though we’re on the wrong side.  Or perhaps we should celebrate the tree since by it his crucifixion was predestined and thus we were redeemed. But since Christmas is the time to celebrate his birth and not his death and resurrection, perhaps we should just move the tree to Easter time.  But then we would have to dismiss the Bunny Rabbit which is symbolic of worship to the god of fertility, and then we’d have to decide where he should belong. May I suggest we return him to his place of residence, a hole in the ground?

Believe me; I’m not trying to take away your tree and the tradition of dressing it to max and displaying it in all of its glory.  But I do question whether it should really be the focus of our celebration and recognition of Christ?  I realize that nowadays there is new revelation for why we have trees, as well as different reasons for the many ornaments in which we dress it. In fact, I’ve been to some churches who host a tree so large that you can hardly fit in the pulpit with it, yet our Lord stands at the door knocking while no one will open up and let him in. It may disturb the program for the day after all.

Holiday, Holy-day or tradition, it’s your personal choice. It’s my responsibility to provide you with enough information and mental stimuli to make an informed decision. To this end, I’d like to encourage you to focus your attention on Christ, for he is the only reason for this season.  Why not give Christ a gift this year and dedicate or rededicate your life to him, and to his cause?  He came not to condemn the world, but through him that the world might be made free. To the utmost, Jesus saves. It is our duty to go into the hedges and highways to compel all men to come, and to herald the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the birth of our King. If not on Christmas day, then you pick a better day when the hearts of all men are opened and subject to his majesty.  And I beseech you as a follower to keep Christ in Christmas, and forever lift him up so that he may draw all men unto him.

Merry Christmas, peace and contentment, good health, long life, and prosperity in the New Year!  Jesus is coming again real soon!


Minister Qimmah Gillund is a Holy Ghost filled Intercessor, Minister, Teacher, Singer, Songwriter, Musician and Church Mother.  She served as an Adjutant for more than six years, traveled the U.S., and six countries, and has lived overseas. Prior to living abroad, she wrote a column for a Women’s Magazine, published out of Philadelphia.  She taught weekly etiquette classes, Bible Studies and currently ministers at a weekly ecumenical prayer group. She received her BA, in that she is a “Born Again” Christian and her MA, in that she is “Master Approved”.  Professionally, she is a Program Administrator in the Educational Assessment field.
 - “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 
1 Corinthians 15:10

Please direct all comments and questions to the author @ iamsanctuary1@aol.com